ToMoDaChi
by WednesdayLove
Summary: Four children make a promise to be friends forever and grow up and go on a Pokemon journey together. Ten years later, Megan is the only one who even seems to like Pokemon anymore. Can she really find and reunite her friends?
1. It's a Promise

It may have been a beach, but it sure didn't feel like it. There wasn't much sand, and the shoreline didn't even extend very far before it reached the wall around the town. There were rocks everywhere, and the water didn't even crash up against them. It just slowly rose and dropped, occasionally making a splash here or there. At least it was gentle.

Megan stared out at the horizon. The pale sky was almost gray as it joined the ocean. The ocean and the sky were always joined like this... together... forever...

The rocks weren't too comfortable to sit on, but she always felt better to look out at the sea from the southern shore of Pallet Town. Even though the town was small and everyone knew of every place in the town, nobody ever seemed to notice this shore. A light breeze lifed from the ocean, causing Megan's golden brown hair to dance from her shoulders to her neck. She brushed it away and collapsed her head into her lap as the water quietly trickled through the rocks below her.

She had just turned 18, and she had no idea what to do with her life. She had always just planned on becoming a Pokemon trainer, but that didn't work out. She was too afraid to go alone, and her friends had all deserted her for one reason or another. So now she just sat on the rocks and watched the ocean everyday, especially at the horizon. Maybe one day a boat would appear, row up to her, and her old friends would get out and they would go on a Pokemon journey together.

She lifted her head up and grabbed the Pokeball that she kept on her necklace, always with her. She rubbed the blue engraving, and even though it was full of broken dreams, she smiled. Everyone told her that she was being childish to want to raise Pokemon, and that her friends would never come back... but everytime she looked at the Pokeball, she could see their smiles from that day that they bought the Pokeballs together, and she always smiled back.

The wind picked up, and a few drops of water splashed from a rock to her pink sneakers. It was time to go. It was starting to get dark, and she was going to try again today for the last time. She stood up and made her way up the rocky shoreline to the grass, and soon enough to the dirt path back into town. Pallet was a dull town. There were few buildings, and most of the buildings were the same. There weren't even many stores, as most people went to the next town for shopping, or they had things delivered.

Megan strolled slowly past the indentical, gray buildings. This wasn't the Pallet she remembered from her childhood. That Pallet was colorful, and here friends were always there to liven it up... but now it was just a gray cluster of buildings with that lonely, rocky shore. She walked past a flattened area in the ground where a building had been torn down and a new one was going to be built. She paused for a second, shook her head, and continued on to the only building that looked different than all the others: the laboratory.

Though Pallet looks boring, it is the home to the famous Pokemon researcher, Professor Oak. His research is the top in the field, and Pallet often has reporters and other science groups swarming the labs. Today was just a regular day though, and Megan was there to find her friend Ellen, one of the Professor's aides. Just as she was about to grab the handle to the front door, the knob turned.

As the door swung open, a young woman was revealed. She wasn't much taller than Megan was, and she even looked about the same age. She didn't seem to put much time into her appearance, as her short hair just laid on her head, and some of it even rested in her face. She had large, thick-rimmed glasses and was wearing a wrinkled, black turtleneck with a large, white lab coat thrown over it.

"Oh, Megan..." She spoke softly, "Aren't you cold?"

Megan looked down at herself. She was wearing an orange long-sleeved cotton tee-shirt which was pretty thin, and some dark red courdoroy pants. It was the first time she had noticed she was getting cold; it was also the first time she noticed her clothes didn't match at all.

"Hi Ellen!" She replied, "I didn't expect you to be leaving already..."

Ellen's eyes shifted to something far away and back to her friend, "There wasn't much work to do today. Just typing on the computer, and I am fast with that, so..."

"Want to go for a walk with me then?" Megan smiled.

Ellen knew what was coming, but she shrugged, smiled gently, and shut the door behind her. The two walked around the outer edge of Pallet, which was blocked off by a tall wooden wall, built to keep wild Pokemon from entering the town and bothering the residents. The wood was old and warped and had seen quite a bit of wear and tear over it's long lifespan, but it still gave the people of Pallet a feeling of protection and comfort. Megan and Ellen spent most of the walk watching the wooden planks pass them by, until Megan started to speak again.

"Ellen, I know I've bothered you about this a lot, but..." Her voice stammered both from nerves and the cold, "I want to go looking for them. I don't care if we won't find them or if it's stupid or whatever you're going to say. I want to do it... and you have to come with me... please..."

Megan's eyes started to tear up. It always happened when she asked Ellen to go on the journey. It had been a while since the last time, but Ellen was still used to it. She didn't respond for a short while.

"I can't. I work here now, and I've settled in just fine..." Ellen said into the wind, barely reaching Megan's ears, "And they probably have already forgot about us."

"You can't say that, Ellen! I still remember! You still remember!"

"It's been ten years, Megan." She snapped.

Megan flinched. It was the first time Ellen had ever spoken louder than the soft whisper-like tones that she normally spoke in. Even though it was softer than Megan's normal talking, for Ellen it came across as a shout. Together, they continued to walk along the edge of town, not speaking another word.

- - -

"Megan, come outside!" A voice yelled from outside Megan's house, "I got a Charmander!"

Ellen snarled, "Doesn't she know you can just knock?"

Megan and Ellen ran to the voice and opened the front door.

"Alex, that's only a doll!" Megan said as her friend held up her new Pokemon.

Alex giggled, "I know, but there's a new Pokemon store down the street near Oak's lab! You have to go!"

"Okay, let's go!" Megan giggled.

"Shouldn't we ask your mom?" Ellen warned.

Megan laughed, "I'm eight years old! I can go where ever I want!"

Ellen hesitated, but followed the two to the store next to the lab.

A small squeaking noise rang out across the silent night. The two girls had never heard a sound like that before.

"Did you hear that?" Megan started looking around for the source of the sound.

Ellen mumbled, "From over there."

Megan couldn't hear her, but saw her point a finger toward the rocky shore on the south side of Pallet. When did they walk this far?

- - -

Another squeak came from the same place, and the friends ran to see what it was. The sound repeated again, but it was hard to see anything now that it was getting very dark outside. A cold wind swept across the shore and Megan shivered. Ellen looked at her for a bit.

"Oh well, we'll probably never find out what it was. You should go home and get warm." Ellen advised her friend.

Megan spotted a small, wriggling object among the rocks, "No, look!"

The two ran to the little blue object as it struggled and squeaked again. As they got closer they saw it was a small ball-shaped Pokemon. It was only around a foot tall, and it had a white belly with a black swirl on it. It had rather large eyes and a small pink mouth that almost looked like it was wearing lipstick. It had two small feet and a large tail shaped like a shoehorn. The Pokemon was dripping with water, and one of it's small feet was stuck under one of the rocks from the beach. It tried to pull its leg out, but squeaked in pain as it's body plopped sideways against the rough rocks.

Megan quickly pulled the rock off it and picked it up and looked at it's foot. It had been scraped and bruised from the struggle with the rock, and it was slowly starting to bleed. Megan gasped as the smooth and wet Pokemon wiggled in her arms, making it difficult for her to hold.

"Let's take it up in the grass." Ellen suggested.

Kneeled over, Ellen pulled a small bottle of ointment from her pocket as Megan laid the little creature in the grass, trying to calm it down. Ellen used the corner of her coat to dab away the blood from the Pokemon's injury and proceeded to scoop a little ointment on her first two fingers on the other hand.

"Now, this is going to hurt, little guy," Ellen slowly moved her hand toward the wincing Pokemon, "but it will make it heal a lot faster."

As the ointment brushed the open wound, the Pokemon squealed in pain and started to kick wildly. Megan almost started to cry watching the poor Pokemon's face in pain. Ellen carfully pinned the hurt leg to the ground and applied the ointment quickly as the Pokemon wailed into the night.

There was a rustle in the grass behind Megan, but before she could turn to look, a sharp pain cracked into the back of her head. She cried out and leaped forward, her knee landing right next to the Pokemon. She checked to make sure she hadn't mashed the creature into the ground and turned around to see what hit her. The attacker looked like the Pokemon the two girls had rescued, but it was much larger, maybe even two feet taller, and had arms with clenched fists at the end, ready to hit anyone in its path. The little Pokemon jumped up from Ellen's hold and hobbled over to the larger one.

"That must be its mother!" Ellen exclaimed, standing up and backing away, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Megan stood up, rubbing the back of her head, "She probably heard her baby crying and came to fight us off..."

The larger Pokemon dove at Ellen, but Ellen jumped backwards, falling onto her back. The Pokemon then started running after Megan, swinging its fist violently. It let out a strange yelp as it rammed into Megan. This time it landed a good hit into her stomach, knocking Megan off her feet, but she quickly gained balance and glanced to see if Ellen was okay, but what she saw was more than just that.

Ellen pulled a small ball out of her pocket and pressed a button on it -- it was a Pokeball. Megan noticed that it had a small blue engraving on it and forgot all about the Pokemon that had just attacked her. Ellen threw the ball and a flash of white light brought a small, round Pokemon into the grass. This Pokemon was also a small blue ball, but it had tiny, beady eyes and large leaves growing from its head.

"Oddish, use Sleep Powder on these Pokemon!" Ellen shouted, catching the Pokeball that returned to her hand.

The little Oddish waved its leaves and a cloud of powder filled the air around the two wild Pokemon. They immediately fell over into a deep sleep. Ellen ran to her friend to see if she was okay.

"Ellen..." Megan whispered, "You..."

- - -

A little boy ran to the three girls as the entered the store, "Hey, guys, come look what I found!"

"Hey, Marcus, you came here, too?" Alex asked him.

"Why are you talking to those stupid kids?" An older boy laughed at Marcus.

"Shut up, Joe!" The younger boy snapped back, "They're my friends!"

The three girls followed Marcus away from Joe and to a box in the store. Megan picked up the box. It was shiny and was labeled "Friendship Pokeballs". Inside there were four Pokeballs. They looked like the regular style -- red on one half and white on the other -- but in the red half, above the button, they had small blue engravings of the Japanese characters "To," "Mo," "Da," and "Chi," spelling out the word for "friends."

Megan got excited, "Let's buy these and then use them when we all become Pokemon trainers, okay?"

The four children pitched in their money and bought the set of Pokeballs. Each child took one Pokeball from the box and held it out in front of themselves.

"With these, we promise to go on the greatest Pokemon journey, and to be friends forever!" Megan cheered.

The group chimed together, "It's a promise!"

- - -

"I know..." Ellen's voice returned to a low mumble, "I've been secretly training and raising Oddish. I love Pokemon, and I really want to train them, but I just can't go on a journey with you... I have a job and things now, so I didn't want you to know about Oddish. I'm sorry."

"N-No!" Megan was dumbfounded, "I'm... not mad! I'm so happy! I thought you hated Pokemon training!"

Ellen slightly smiled and walked over to the small Pokemon, "Anyway, I think this Pokemon has broken a bone or two in it's foot. We really need to get it to a Pokemon Center right away."

Megan nodded, still in disbelief.


	2. Struggle for the Future

"This is a Poliwag." Professor Oak told the two girls as the blue Pokemon with a swirl waddled around the laboratory floors.

Ellen laughed nervously, "I knew it was called something like that..."

Samuel Oak was a kind old man. He was definitely getting old, as you could tell from his eyes, not to mention his thinning, gray hair and plumpened shape. Even in his old age, he was active and loved caring for and studying Pokemon.

That night had been a long one. Megan couldn't sleep worrying about the Pokemon, so she and Ellen had stayed the night at the lab looking after it until Oak appeared the next morning to help them heal it. Somehow, Ellen was able to get a full night's rest, but Megan didn't understand at all. The Pokemon now had a bandaged foot and was curiously wandering around Oak's lab trying to figure out what it was supposed to be doing.

"It's okay, you don't see these Pokemon around Pallet too much." Oak explained, "I don't blame you for not knowing... but this one seems to be a lot smaller than most Poliwags. It could even be a newborn Pokemon."

"Wow..." Megan looked at the wobbly little thing, "Baby Pokemon are so cute. I'm glad that you were able to cure it..."

Megan's voice trailed away as she started to slowly tumble to the side in her chair, falling quickly asleep. Ellen laughed and sat next to her. Oak went into his office to get some food for the injured Pokemon as the Poliwag waddled over to Megan and started to nibble at her leg.

Megan suddenly jerked and kicked the little Pokemon aside as she shook her head from side to side trying to figure out what had just happened. She looked at the Pokemon which sadly got up and stared at her.

"I'm sorry!" She gasped, "I didn't mean to hurt you! Were you trying to kiss me?"

Ellen laughed, "More like eat you."

"Then I've got just the thing he needs!" The Professor came back from the back of the lab and placed a small glass plate piled with with brown pellets next to the Poliwag.

The Pokemon excitedly munched away at its new breakfast. Megan watched in awe as the cute little creature ate so happily. She glanced around the lab; it was such an amazing place. There were books about Pokemon in bookshelves lined up on almost every wall. A lot of the books were even written by Oak himself, or were his personal notebooks. The rest of the lab had a small kitchen for making Pokemon food (but the humans would make food for themselves, too) and a small hospitial for caring for hurt or sick Pokemon. There was a large window in the back of the lab that overlooked the pasture where Oak would observe Pokemon that he was caring for. Megan wished she could work at the lab like Ellen, but she just didn't feel smart enough.

The front door flung open and a strange girl barged in, interrupting Megan's daydreams. She had a messy stack of papers in her arms and she hurriedly kicked the door shut. The two girls soon recognized her as Daisy, a young woman who lived near the lab.

"I got a bunch of news from Red," Daisy exclaimed, shuffling papers frantically as the three glared in amazement. Even Poliwag was staring.

She finally found the paper that she was looking for and thrusted it toward Oak, causing him to take a step back with shock. He slowly recovered and took the paper from her.

"Wow..." Oak read slowly as Ellen leaned in with curiousity.

Megan looked confused, "What's going on?"

Ellen turned to her, "Red is one of the kids Mr. Oak sent out to fill the Pokedex."

Megan knew Red, but, "What's a Pokedex?" she asked.

"You don't remember?" Ellen shook her head in disbelief, "It's a digital encyclopedia with information about every Pokemon that exists... or at least that's what it's going to be. Mr. Oak sent three kids from Pallet out to catch Pokemon for him so he could study them. At the same time, the kids were to enter the Pokemon League so they could travel all around Kanto. Didn't you know?"

"I remember now," Megan strained to think, "but I don't remember hearing about the Pokedex."

Daisy was gone in a flash, and Oak was left staring off into space with a proud look on his face. The Poliwag returned to his cheery meal, and Megan stared starry-eyed at the old Professor.

"Professor!" She shouted, jumping up from the chair, "I want to help with the Pokedex, too!"

It took a while for this to register in Oak's mind, but he finally looked over to Megan, "Really? And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Megan shrugged off his laughs, "I can go on a Pokemon journey, too! I'm going to go! I'll even start today!"

The other two looked at Megan and then at each other, still trying to decide if she was serious. Before they could think another thought, the little blue Pokemon that had just finished eating burst into tears.

"Ack! What's wrong with it?!" Megan shrieked.

Oak covered his ears, "She probably wants to go back to her mother!"

The two girls didn't even consider that, but it was only natural to let the baby go back to its mother after it was healed. Without hesitation, the three set out the the shore to look for the Poliwag's mother, identified as Poliwhirl by Professor Oak. Megan carried the Poliwag in her arms, who was slowly slowing its crying to a whimper.

Hearing the shrill cries of its child, the Poliwhirl climbed up from the shore in no time. Before it could set its mind to attack, though, Megan let Poliwag down and it ran back to its mother with the greatest relief. Before it got all the way to the safety of its parent, it turned back to look at Megan, chirped happily, and ran off to the ocean with Poliwhirl.

The three sighed and headed back up the dusty path to the same old Pallet, ready to continue life as it always was, day in and day out... except for Megan. She was adamant on starting a Pokemon journey right away.

"So, how about it?" She persisted, "When will I get to work on the Pokedex and start my journey?"

Professor Oak laughed again, "If you can catch a Pokemon on your own, I'll let you do it."

"Okay!" She cheered, "So when will you give me a Pokemon to catch one with?"

"You really are ready to go right now, aren't you?" The man was almost worried, "But I never said I'll give you a Pokemon to do it. I don't really have any left to lend out, you know."

Megan stopped walking with the others and stared at her feet. Was he crazy? You can't catch a Pokemon that way. Even Megan knew that herself. Nobody wanted her to go on this journey, not even Professor Oak. Maybe she really should just give up on this stupid idea... but that would be giving up on her life... wouldn't it? The frustrated girl stormed off in a grumpy rage back to her house. Ellen looked a bit worried, but knew it was for the best.

Ellen picked up the plate of food and washed it off in the kitchen when the two returned to the lab. She wondered what kind of crazy ideas Megan was coming up with at home in her desperate attempts to become a Pokemon trainer. Maybe she could leave work early today and confort her friend.

A knock came from the front door. Another one of Oak's assistants opened it and signed for a package.

"Ellen," the man called, "Tell Mr. Oak that a new shipment of berries just came in."

_Oh no..._ she thought, _that means I'll have to do that again..._

Ellen reported the new deliver to Oak, and the dreaded task was laid upon her. She had to prepare food for the Ratticates and feed them today. If there was a Pokemon that Ellen couldn't stand, it was Ratticate. Even the small Rattata creeped her out, but Ratticate just made her want to give up her job as a lab assistant.

Once a month, the lab got a shipment of strange berries that was a special treat for the Ratticates. Ellen didn't understand how something that smelled so badly could ever be a treat, but the Ratticates loved it.

The strange berries stained the sink as she smashed them together, emitting a foul aroma into the kitchen. Why did Ratticates like to eat such horrid food? Ellen gagged just smelling the weird fruits as she grinded them with a block in the sink. The mixture looked finished enough to her, so she shoveled them out with a spade into a bucket that the Rattatas would eat from. Just the thought of it was making her sick already.

She put the bucket aside and washed her hands and cleaned up the mess from the kitchen. Even though this was a distracting job, she still couldn't stop thinking about Megan. She didn't have that much time to worry, though, because she had to go tend to the Goldeens and Seakings before feeding the Ratticates. This job was not a big deal at all. The aquarium was calming, and it wasn't hard to drop the small food pellets and flakes into the water. Plus, Ellen loved to watch the Pokemon swim cheerfully after a long-awaited feeding.

The temperature and cleanliness of the water was fine, so she didn't get to waste any more time with the water Pokemon. It was time to take the bucket outside. In a hurry to get it over with, she dropped the bucket carelessly over the fence of the pen where the Ratticates stayed. Even though it was a horror scene, she couldn't help but watch the huge teeth slash at the mush that was thrown to them. Ratticates were nothing appealing to look at -- a huge mass of tangled brown fur and large, grimey teeth that existed only to kill prey or chop up berry bushes. No wonder people trained such a Pokemon even though it didn't do any special attacks... these teeth were so dangerous. The three Pokemon let out scary grunts as they hungrily engulfed the contents of the wide bucket.

The food fest was cut short by the scream of a young girl not too far from the lab. Ellen gasped and turned to the direction it came from. Was that really her? What was she doing? Did she really try to...?

Forgetting all about the Ratticates, Ellen ran toward the north end of Pallet, out of the wooden gate in the huge fence around Oak's pastures. Daisy joined her running out of her house as the grey buildings blurred by the two, running for the continuing screams. The two froze as they saw Megan knocked on the ground -- her clothes were ripped and dirty; there were cuts and bruises across her body. Flapping next to her was an enraged Pidgey.

Megan's head rolled over to see Ellen reaching in her pocket, "Ellen, stop!"

Ellen's eyes widened, and she understood what Megan shouted for. She really was serious.

"You can't battle this Pokemon!" She propped herself back up, "I have to catch him all by--"

Before she could finish, the Pidgey dove into it's recovering foe, striking it's beak across Megan's cheek. The pain burned and sent a firey flash throughout her whole body. She slowly stretched her soot-covered left hand to her face, feeling a wet, warm smear. She pulled her hand away to see that it was covered in blood that was running from the large gash on her cheek. Could she really do this? Tears started to form in her eyes and she shook her head to try to clear them out. She had to do this. There was no other way. She had to see her friends again. She knew they were out there...

Megan's hands slid across the tall grass as she struggled to stand back up. She couldn't think straight, but she knew she had to weaken this Pokemon so that she could catch it. That's all she had to do... this one simple task, and she'd be able to go search for Alex and Marcus. She knew Ellen would want to come, too.

The wild Pidgey began flapping its wings more quickly than usual, and Ellen knew right away that it would do a Gust attack. This was one of Pidgey's special attacks in which it created a small whirlwind by flapping its wings. Each Pokemon can bite and scratch and things in self defense, but after fighting for a while, they slowly learn how to do special attacks that can have amazing effects. Ellen knew she couldn't risk letting Megan get hit with a Gust attack, so she grabbed for her Pokeball again.

To add to the chain of surprise, Megan stood up and started to dash at the flying Pokemon with a raised fist. Was she really going to punch it? Ellen pressed the button on her Pokeball to prepare to release Oddish, but out of nowhere a large Pokemon hopped onto Megan's back and used her as a springboard to soar at the Pidgey and land a strong punch to the right side of its face. The hurt and scared Pokemon quickly flew off.

The blue savior landed, and everyone recognized it as Poliwhirl. Megan lowered her clenched hand and stared ahead, dumbfounded. Did that really just happen? Did a Poliwhirl really just save her from the Pidgey? None of the three of them even knew what to think until a baby Poliwag with a bandaged foot waddled over to the older Pokemon, sqeaking with delight.

Exhausted and overwhelmed with the pain that she was just beginning to feel, Megan fell off her feet and hugged her knees in the grass, watching as the little blue Pokemon she had rescued from the rocks bobbled its way to her. Moving in the tall grass seemed like quite a feat for the small Poliwag. With no fear, it hopped into her lap and nestled into her chest. Megan jumped a bit from shock, but noticing it's loving and beaming face, she lightly stroked its slippery, wet skin on its back. Did it remember that Megan helped cure it? Did it remember being saved from the rocks?

The three girls looked up as the mother Poliwhirl crowed toward its child and waved. The mother ran off, and Megan waited for the Poliwag to jump away from her and follow. The mother had almost vanished in the horizon, and the baby Pokemon was still cheerfully enjoying Megan's lap. Without thinking, Megan poked Poliwag in it's belly. It squirmed a little.

"Gotcha." She pulled her Pokeball out of her right pocket and dropped it carefully on the Pokemon's head.

The round mechanism cracked open, revealing a ball of light that engulphed the small creature, shrinking it to the size of the ball. With a clack, it closed over the trapped Pokemon and rumbled a little in her lap, but let off a click to let Megan know the capture was a success.

"I..." Megan was so excited she could barely get the words out, "caught... a Pokemon!"


	3. Goobye, Pallet Town!

"I would tell you that you shouldn't have done that yesterday..." Professor Oak had a serious look on his face, "but I have to take some of the blame for encouraging it."

"I'm sorry, Professor." Megan held her head in shame, but she secretly couldn't stop being happy.

Her new Poliwag chirped and wiggled in her arms. The professor sat with his stern glare for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. Ellen tried to eavesdrop as often as she could as she organized files in the next room of the lab. Oak slowly knelt down and took a long look at the gleeful Pokemon being held by the eager Megan.

"You know..." He closed his eyes and spoke softly, "Since it means that much to you..."

Megan's face beamed, "I did it!"

Without even waiting for Professor Oak to finish his sentence, Megan dashed into the next room, bouncing around and chanting Ellen's name with happiness. Ellen backed up a bit and gave Megan a feint smile.

"Aren't you happy for me?" Megan calmed down.

Ellen's soft smile faded and she turned away from Megan, "Of course."

But her voice didn't sound happy. Megan's excitement drained as she slowly stepped to Ellen's side to see exactly what type of face it was that she was hiding. Even Poliwag stopped squeaking to check up on Ellen. Maybe she was embarassed? What could it be? Why was her face red -- and why were tears coming her eyes?

The only sound was the light click of Megan's shoe on the tiled floor as she took a nervous step toward her friend.

"Ellen...?"

"Nobody..." She managed to choke out, "Nobody's left..."

- - -

_"Do you miss your friend Joe already?" Megan's mom asked as Megan slowly trudded down the stairs for breakfast._

_Megan grunted, "Joe wasn't my friend. He always called us stupid little kids."_

_"But I always saw you playing together." Her mom handed her some strange eggs on a plate._

_Megan pushed the food around on her plate without eating it, "He was probably just playing with Marcus."_

_Megan's mom sighed as Megan angrily left the table without excusing herself and barged out the front door. Everytime she was reminded of Marcus, she got very upset. Joe leaving on a Pokemon journey didn't bother her, but Marcus's parents moving away surely did. Now she had no idea how to talk to him... or how to keep the promise they made._

_As the door swung open, Megan was about to stomp down the doorsteps, but a crying girl interrupted her rage._

_"Alex!" Megan walked up to her, "What's wrong? Did you get hurt?"_

_"My parents were talking to Marcus's parents about their new jobs..." Alex struggled to speak through her crying, "And now..."_

_Megan's body froze as the realization of Alex's meaning struck her._

_"I'm sorry!" Alex screamed and ran back home._

_- - -_

Megan looked down at Poliwag and then up at Ellen's face. It was almost too much for her to stand just looking at her. Her heart burned with each painful pounding as she continued to watch the tears stream from her best friend's eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. She ran.

_I'm sorry, Ellen. _Megan thought, hoping Ellen could hear, as she sprinted towards her home, holding back her own tears, _But I have to do this. I'll come back soon -- with Marcus and Alex, too. We can all raise our Pokemon together. Just like we promised._

The next day, Megan tried to pack up her things without thinking about Ellen. What kinds of things do you take on a Pokemon journey? She packed a few changes of clothes, some snacks, all of her money, and Poliwag's Pokeball. She really couldn't think of anything else that she needed, but then one last thing struck her. She had to shuffle through her drawers to finally find it, but it was still there in perfect shape.

She pulled the small, golden locket out of the drawer and pressed the button on the side. With a loud snap, the cover on the front jerked open and her father's smiling face shown brightly through the glass. This picture was the only way she knew her father. Her mother never talked about him much, and Megan was always too afraid to ask about him. She really wished that she could've learned more before her mother died.

Even though it was sad, Megan smiled and closed the locket, placing it into her bag. Poliwag bounced with excitement on Megan's plush bed. She won't be sleeping in that bed anymore -- from now on she'll be lodging at Pokemon Centers and camping out. Slowly the new trainer walked out of her house, her happy Pokemon hopping right behind her. This was the last time she'll go through that door, too. She never thought starting a Pokemon journey would be so upsetting.

"Well, Poliwag, here we go." Megan sighed, "All we have to do is get the Pokedex from Oak and we're off. Hopefully we don't run into Ellen. I just don't think I'd want to leave if I had to say goodbye to her..."

The little Pokemon didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but was happy nonetheless. The two young adventurers made their way across the bleak town of Pallet for the last visit to Professor Oak's lab. When they arrived, Megan nervously tapped her knuckles on the big white door. The knob clattered and the door slowly creaked open to reveal Ellen greeting the girl and her Pokemon.

"Ellen..." Megan didn't know what to do; she felt like she could start crying any second.

Ellen smiled softly like always, "Don't worry. I've realized that this is what you need to do. I'll just wait for you to come back."

The burden of guilt liften from Megan's shoulders and her eyes watered with relief. She leapt forward and smothered Ellen in an extatic embrace. Ellen laughed nervously and wriggled free of her grasp, "Now go get your Pokedex."

Megan giggled and skipped away to the back of the lab where Oak was sitting in his office awaiting her arrival. Megan proudly accepted the small red Pokedex that he handed her.

"Remember, to keep your Pokemon healthy, you should only keep up to six with you at once. Too many Pokemon will become unhappy and restless. If you get more than six, story the extras via Bill's PC. This is very easy to do, and you can find out about this system at any Pokemon Center. Also, if you catch a species of Pokemon that isn't listed in the Pokedex, send it to me by PC immediately so I can observe and study it."

Megan gave the man a slaute, "Of course!"

"And remember to always take good care of your Pokemon. Always keep them happy and treat them with love."

"I don't think she'll have any problem doing that, Mr. Oak." Ellen stepped into the office from behind Megan.

Megan turned to Ellen and smiled, then to Poliwag, "You ready?"

Poliwag chirped and gave an agreeing hop, and the two were off. The same gray buildings passed by them for the last time, and the final one to pass was Daisy's house. Finally, Megan reached the tall grass at the north side of town.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to give you a name, little guy," Megan knelt down to her Poliwag, "I can't just keep calling you 'little guy,' since you're not even a guy. What do you think about Polly?"

The Pokemon bounced with joy in the grass while Megan laughed, "Well, Polly, let's go! Once we step into this grass here -- we're on a Pokemon journey!"

Polly seemed more excited than Megan as she ran in circles around her new trainer. Megan guessed that Pokemon get excited after being named and accepted by their trainers. It was a big event for the both of them, so without any more to say, the two stepped their first foot into the tall grass. Megan was now on a Pokemon journey.


	4. The First Real Battle

"So, Polly, was types of special attacks can you do?" Megan asked as the two journeyed through the winding, uphill path north of Pallet.

Poliwag chirped and whistled to Megan. She giggled and pretended to understand. The grass was tall and randomly scattered around around the path to the text city. It wasn't too far, but since it was a small incline, the young girl and baby Pokemon were easily worn out, occasionally stopping to rest against some small ledges that were just a little too big to climb.

"These supplies won't last us very long," Megan mumbled as she reached into the side pocket of her bag to grab a candy bar, "I wonder how Pokemon trainers are supposed to make money..."

She waited for Polly to respond, "I guess we'll find out, right?"

Again, there was no response. Megan looked down to her right side and noticed the happy Pokemon was no longer bouncing alongside her.

"Polly!"

A few quick turns and darting eyes found that Polly had simply wandered off to a patch of grass they had just passed through. Megan sighed with relief. Taking care of a Pokemon was a lot more work than she had expected.

"Come back, Polly," She called, "I'll share my candy--"

Her words cut off when she noticed what Polly was looking at. A fuzzy, purple nose was poking out of the grass, sniffing at the underbelly of Megan's Pokemon. Behind it, a purple tail with stuck up from the grass. _It's a Rattata, _Megan thought to herself, _Polly should be okay._

Rattata were generally friendly Pokemon. They were small and purple and lived around towns, commonly known around the world. Occasionally, they would approach picknickers and steal some of their food, but they would never randomly attack a Pokemon, especially a baby like Polly.

Megan was excited to see the two Pokemon interact. As the Rattata became more comfortable by smelling it's new friend, it slowly stepped out of the grass. Megan noticed that it was much smaller than the other Rattata she had seen around Pallet. Maybe it was a baby, too. Megan slowly crept forward so she could watch from a better angle, and a bubble started to form between Polly's lips.

Before Megan could figure out what was going on, the bubble floated a second to the Rattata, popping on it's nose with a loud snap. The purple Pokemon jerked it's head back in pain from the stinging bubble and hissed. The scared and confused baby Polly quickly turned to Megan with a helpless look. Megan was stupified.

"Wh-What did you just do?" She stammered.

She had no idea that a Poliwag could create a damage-inflicting bubble like that. It was her first time seeing her Pokemon do a special attack. As she stared at Polly with equal confusion, the Rattata shook it's head and dashed forward. Megan tried to step forward to stop it, but the teeth had already sunk into little Polly's tail.

The Poliwag screeched out in pain, wobbling around and trying to escape. Megan quickly darted toward the two Pokemon, scaring the Rattata away easily.

"Are you okay?" Megan scooped up her Pokemon with her arms, "You can't just go doing reckless things like that!"

The Rattata wasn't too strong, so Polly's tail was only a little scratched up; nevertheless, Megan couldn't help feeling bad that she didn't step in sooner.

"Hey you over there!" A voice from behind the two called, "Looks like you could use one of these!"

Megan jumped in shock and slowly tunred around to see a cute, young man holding a spray bottle. Nervously, she inched toward the man while Polly squirmed in her cradling arms, trying to get rid of the scratching sensation from the bite.

"It's a Potion." The man laughed, "It'll heal that wound in no time. Here, it's free."

With that, the man tossed the small bottle to Megan. Balancing her wriggling Pokemon in one arm, she managed to catch the Potion with her other hand. The man walked over to the two to explain what to do.

"I guess you've never seen this before." He chuckled to Megan, "All you do is spray the bottle on the injury until it's completely wet with the Potion. It should relieve the pain and make the wound heal faster, too. Usually you'll go through the whole bottle with one use, but since this Pokemon is so small, you can only use half this time."

"Wow..." Megan was stunned, "Thanks a lot! But why are you giving this to me?"

"It's a promotion for our store," The man replied, "and you can buy more of them from our store in Viridian City."

"We're on our way there!" Megan rejoiced, "I'm starting my Pokemon journey today! I'll be sure to buy a lot of these!"

"Oh really? You're a Pokemon trainer and you didn't know what a Potion was?"

Megan blinked a few times, trying to think of how to respond, "Well... not really..."

Embarassed, Megan looked down at Polly while she sprayed the Potion so she could hide her flushed face. The man knelt down next to her and smiled.

"Don't worry, it's your first day, so I guess it's excused then."

Megan looked up, still blushing. She thought he was a pretty cute guy, even though he did have long hair. His skin was really smooth looking, and he looked young and smart. He even wore glasses! Megan was really interested in this smart type with glasses. She shook her head and looked back to her Pokemon. This was no time to be thinking things like that! Her fingers kept pulling the trigger on the bottle, but nothing was coming out.

"I accidentally used it all up," Megan whined, "Oh well. Are you okay, Polly?"

Polly chirped and jumped up, kissing Megan's cheek. Megan stumbled backwards, laughing.

"You're cold and slippery!" She giggled in the dirt for a second and stood up.

"She's a pretty cute Poliwag!" The man stood up, too, "So, her name is Polly?"

Megan was shocked again, "Yeah, that's her name. How did you know she was a girl?"

"See this swirl on her belly?" The man pointed to Polly, "Females usually have a gray swirl there, but males are always pitch black... but there are other ways of knowing, too."

Megan blushed again. She never even thought about her Pokemon's gender until now, though she always just assumed that Polly was a girl.

"My name is Allen, by the way," the man smiled to her and held his hand out.

Megan stuttered, "I'm... Me-Megan!"

Before Megan's hand reached Allen's, A hissing noise arose from behind Megan and the two spun to see what it was. A Rattata was standing in the path with its tail sticking straight up, posed for battle. Megan forgot about Allen to resume the fight with Rattata.

"Okay, Polly," Megan stood firm, "It's time for your first real battle!"

The little Pokemon whined and hid behind its trainer's legs.

Megan sighed, "Come on! It's easy! Just shoot bubbles at it like last time!"

Polly slowly stepped forward, shaking. Megan felt bad, but she knew she had to help her Pokemon get over the fear of battle.

"Okay, ready? Shoot some bubbles now!"

Polly formed a bubble and shot it. No longer curious about them, the Rattata easily stepped aside while hissing and preparing for some kind of attack. Megan didn't know what to do. Couldn't she form bubbles faster than that?

"Try again, this time, shoot one faster!"

Polly strained to form another bubble, but it took even longer than the fast time. The bubble didn' t even float all the way to the opponent before it popped. Seconds later, the Rattata took off. It was moving so quickly that it just looked like a purple blur, racing circles around the crying baby Poliwag.

_What should I do? _Megan thought to herself, _I'm such a bad Pokemon trainer!_

"Ekans, help out the Poliwag!" Allen's voice called from behind Megan.

A Pokeball breezed by Megan's side, opening up to reveal a long, slithering Pokemon. Though it had no legs, the Pokemon could push itself forward very quickly, and formed a ring around Polly with its long, winding body.

"Wow, what is that?" She turned behind her.

"That's my Pokemon, Ekans." He gave her a smile, "I don't think a baby like Polly can take on Rattata's speed alone!"

Megan didn't know whether to be insulted that he called Polly slow or flattered that he was helping her out. She turned back to the battle.

"Try to shoot more bubbles at it, Polly!" Megan called out.

"The Rattata is using Quick Attack." Allen explained, "Normal fighting abilities like scratching and biting normally don't get named attacks, but when Pokemon seem to do something extrodinary that takes a lot of practice to learn, it gets a name. This ability is called Quick Attack, and a Rattata can run especially fast with it, making it a difficult target to hit, plus it hurts if the Rattata runs into you. Polly is using one of it's special attacks called Bubble. When Rattata runs into Ekans, he should be able to catch it with his special move, Wrap."

"Oh, so it's called Bubble?" Megan felt stupid for not knowing anything about her Pokemon, "Well then..."

She turned to the battling Pokemon and shouted, "Use Bubble, Polly!"

Polly strained to form another bubble from her mouth. After a lot of hard work, the bubble started to float, and the Rattata charged in for its attack. The bubble popped, but instead of hitting Rattata, it landed in the middle of Ekan's face. Ekans jerked and lost his posture, leaving Polly wide open. The Rattata smashed into the defenseless Poliwag, knocking it into the stunned Ekans. Without any delay, the Rattata jumped toward Ekans and got a firm grip on his neck with its teeth.

"Quick, Ekans," Allen shouted, "Try to use Wrap!"

Ekans's tail slithered toward Rattata, but it couldn't make it. Rattata tightened it's clamp on Ekans, and Allen could see that the teeth were starting to pierce the Pokemon's skin. The man quickly pointed his Pokeball toward Ekans and pushed the top and bottom together, sending a beam of red light out. The beam hit Ekans, consuming him in light, and returned to the ball. Ekans was gone.

"How did you do that?!" Megan shrieked.

"You really don't know about Pokemon, do you? Just point the button at the Pokemon and push the top and bottom together."

Megan started to shuffle through her bag for Polly's Pokeball, but Rattata had already pounded into her again. Megan realized there wasn't enough time and dashed after the Pokemon herself. She dove toward Polly, catching her and landing on the ground. It hurt a bit, but she didn't have time to notice. She quickly stood up and faced the Rattata, and she finally noticed. This Rattata was much bigger than the one they had met before. She didn't know why she didn't notice earlier, but this one looked a lot more angry -- and a lot more dangerous. Even Megan herself started to feel afraid. She tried to hide it by keeping a serious face as she finally found the Pokeball with her hand and returned Polly to the inside.

"Get out of here!" She screamed at the Rattata, but it didn't listen.

From nowhere, a sweet, perfume-like smell filled the air. The smell was strong enough to distract everyone around, and the Rattata gave up on the battle to follow it.

Was it really that easy to stop it? Megan turned to where the Rattata was headed and saw that the patch of grass had strange leaves sticking out of it. She wanted badly to follow it herself, but she had to stay and hold on to Polly. As the Rattata happily disappeared into the grass, the leaves sank and the Rattata cried out in pain. The aroma faded away and the two trainers ran to the mysterious spot in the grass.

An Oddish had wrapped the Rattata in its leaves, and it was quickly draining the Rattata's energy. The Rattata fainted within only a few seconds, and the Oddish let go, beaming and dancing with energy. A Pokeball landed on the Rattata, engulfed it with a light, bounced a second, and clicked to signify a capture.

"Looks like I already got my first capture." A quiet voice arose from around the corner of one of the ridges on the hill.

Megan instantly ran over to Ellen, tackling her with a hug. Ellen stepped back to maintain balance and slowly placed her arms around Megan, too.

"I knew you'd need me along, too." Ellen unwraveled herself from Megan's Wrap attack, "but don't you have something else to tend to?"

"Polly!" Megan's mind shifted instantly, "Oh man!"

Megan opened up her Pokeball and looked at her injured Pokemon, "We really need to get to a Pokemon Center."

Ellen reached into her bag, which was identical to Megan's, and grabbed some of her ointment, applying it to Polly, "This'll help, but we still need to get to a Pokemon Center to heal fully."

"As long as we keep our Pokemon in their Pokeballs, we shoudln't have any more strange encounters like that." Allen explained to them, "The Pokemon around here are all really docile."

The two girls nodded and returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs, and the trio headed off to Viridian City.


	5. Viridian City: Enter Green

"Your Pokemon are fighting fit!" The attendant at the front desk bowed to the group and returned their Pokeballs, "We hope to see you again!"

"Wow," Megan blinked, examining her Pokeball for differences, "Did that really heal them?"

She lightly tossed the ball out in front of her and within no time, Polly appeared from the released light, full of energy and as healthy as ever. The jiggling blue Pokemon leapt into its owner's arms and began snuggling up to her chest.

"Pokemon are stored as a type of data while in a Pokeball, so the machine at a Pokemon center can correct the parts of the data that display injuries to heal them," Ellen explained to her friend, "They'll become perfectly healed after a quick spin through the machine."

"Well, I have to get back to my job," Allen told the two girls, "so I hope you two have good luck on your journey!"

The young man left the Pokemon Center without even wanting for a 'thank you'. Megan smiled and tossed her Pokemon lightly in the air, catching it and tossing it again and again. Polly squeaked with happiness as it played in the air.

Ellen decided to call out her Pokemon, also. Oddish was the first to be summoned, who walked serenely to his master's side, brushing his leaves against her legs. After retrieving Oddish's Pokeball, she dropped her second one. At first sight of the purple creature, Polly had sped to the corner of the Pokemon Center, shaking with terror.

"Ellen!" Megan scolded her, "Why did you do that?"

"Don't worry," Ellen laughed, "Pokemon gain respect for their trainers after being captured. This guy will listen to whatever I tell him, as long as I respect him, too."

She turned to her Rattata, "Listen, now, that blue one over in the corner... he's your friend now."

Rattata slowly walked to the corner of the building, curious to what his new friend was like. Polly began squealing with fright and running frantically in circles. As the imposing danger grew closer and closer, the baby Pokemon realized she had no choice but to fight him off. Megan saw the water form a bubble in her Pokemon's mouth and hurriedly stomped in front of Polly.

"Polly, this is your friend now," Megan explained, sounding a bit nervous herself, "so you don't have to be afraid."

She bent down and scooped Polly up with her hands and placed her in front of Ellen's Rattata. Polly turned away a little, keeping her eye on the purple fiend, slowly taking shaky steps backward. Rattata took a long stride forward and sniffed at Polly's flapping tail. The scary Pokemon chattered his teeth and hopped a bit, and Polly's shaking ceased. A curious squeak and a few steps later, the two Pokemon were happily jumping and playing together.

After a sigh of relief, Megan turned to the leafy Pokemon at her friend's feet, "How come Oddish isn't playing?"

"Well," Ellen paused to look at the calm, peaceful Oddish resting next to her, "Oddish was always shy and would never interact with other Pokemon. Oak figured that he was better with humans, so he let me keep him as a pet and said he would be the perfect type of Pokemon for training."

The curious girl crawled over to the small creature and began to pet his leaves, but Oddish pounced into her face, repelling her as small purple spores drifted toward her, landing all over her skin. Ellen quickly withdrew Oddish into his Pokeball and called Polly over to her side.

"Hey, can you pop a few bubbles on her face and neck for me, please?" Ellen begged her friend's Pokemon.

Confusedly, but obediently, the Poliwag forced two bubbles to splash upon her dazed trainer's face. Megan shook her face in shock as the sharp sting registered in her brain; tears began to form in the eyes of her worried face.

"What happened to me?" She whined.

Ellen sighed, "It's just Poison Powder, one of Oddish's attacks. It doesn't affect humans much, but if we didn't wash it off, it could've gotten serious."

"Ellen..." the fickle girl sniffled, "You're so smart about Pokemon."

Ellen softly smiled and pulled a cloth from her bag and started to wipe up the wet powder from her friend's teary face. She reached behind her again and grabbed a small bottle of blue liquid. She dropped the cloth aside to twist the cap off the bottle and gave it to Megan, who stared at it with confusion. Ellen put her hand in the shape of the letter "c" and tilted it a bit, motioning for her friend to drink the contents of the bottle. Megan responded hesitantly and swallowed the strange substance in one swift gulp.

"Just in case, you know?" She smiled again to Megan.

Megan was still clueless, "What was that?"

"My last antidote," Ellen giggled, "Let's go buy some more."

It had been a long time since Megan had been in Viridian City. It really wasn't too much different to her than Pallet Town, as all the buildings were pretty much the same, and the townsfolk seemed dull. Also like Pallet, Viridian City had one very unique building: the Pokemon Gym. Megan was excited about battling the gym trainer there to earn a badge.

This much about Pokemon training she did understand. Every trainer goes on a journey to try to become the Champion. This person has a special seat above all other trainers and can enter forbidden areas where very strong wild Pokemon live. In order to become the Champion, one must first defeat the Elite Four, a group of powerful trainers who fight for the sole purpose of defending the Champion. If a trainer can defeat the four in battle, they will become the Champion and gain glory, fame, and not to mention -- money.

But becoming the Champion isn't just that easy. In order to even face the Elite Four, a trainer must first collect eight Gym Badges from the region that he or she is participating in (There are actually multiple Champions in different places across the world). These badges are obtained by finding and defeated the Gym Leaders in Pokemon Gyms all across the region. Once these badges are collected, a trainer may venture into a large, difficult cave that may eventually lead them to the Elite Four.

Megan was eager to start earning Gym Badges right away, but her priority was to shop with Ellen first. The girls bought a few antidotes for curing poison and spare Pokeballs, and Megan made sure to stock up on Potions just for Allen.

"Oh man!" Megan whined as they left the store, "I just spent almost all my money! How does a trainer get money, anyway?"

Ellen laughed nervously, "Do you really not know? You battle in fair matches with other trainers and wager money on it."

"Isn't that gambling?" Megan's eyes widened.

"Not really," Ellen scratched the back of her neck, "It's more like a contest of skill, so it's not really gambling..."

Her voice trailed off as she followed her friend directly to the gym.

"Who are you?" A girl confronted the two as they neared the gym.

Megan was speechless. The girl seemed a little younger than she and Ellen, but had the feel of an experienced person. She was wearing a blue shirt and a red skirt and had on matching blue loose socks. The yellow bag hanging at her side had six Pokeballs attached to it. The two could tell that she was an experienced trainer.

"You're Green," Ellen spoke slowly and softly, "from Pallet Town, right?"

"And?" The girl replied haugtily.

"We're from Pallet, too!" Megan exclaimed, "We're gonna fight in this gym, too!"

"Don't even bother." The younger girl laughed at Megan, "The Gym Leader here is probably the best in all of Kanto. Either way, he's not around right now. I tried to go in, but he was gone for some reason."

Ellen nodded to Megan, "Well lets head to the forest up north. We could probably do a lot of training there."

"I guess so..."

The arrogant Green left without saying anything while Megan was disappointed that she couldn't fight a Gym Leader, but after thinking she realized that Polly couldn't even fight a wild Rattata. The first thing she had to do was teach Polly how to use her Bubble attack properly and work on her basic fighting skills. The two friends turned back and started heading for the norther gate.

"Are you two young ladies heading into the forest?" A strange man holding a cup of coffee approached them from what seemed like nowhere, "Let me show you how to catch Pokemon!"

A strange grin grew among the mans face and Megan's stomach sank. Without any hesitation, the girls were dashing to the entrance of Viridian Forest.


	6. Friendly Enemies

Megan crashed into the floor with a loud thud and proceeded to roll around, disoriented.

"What's going on?" She mumbled to the legs she tumbled into.

"Finally," An outreached hand spoke to her, "You woke up."

Megan's mind tossed ideas around until she was able to figure out exactly where she was and for what reason she was there. She has spent the entire previous day teaching Polly to shoot bubbles in Viridian Forest, which paid off, because now the Poliwag was able to create many bubbles in a short period of time. The two had actually spent so much time and energy training that Ellen had to help her back to the Pokemon Center to stay the night. Sleeping on a couch wasn't all too comfortable, but it was what they had to do.

Ellen began folding the blankets as Megan struggled to regain consiousness. Today they were going to journey all the way through the forest and make their way to the next town.

The forest was dark and cool because of the rich trees filling the area. The grass was very tall, and it wasn't uncommon to see a Bug Pokemon squirm around a nearby tree. Megan wanted to catch one, but they all ran as soon as they heard footsteps approaching.

"I wish a Pokemon would come out so Polly could have a training battle," Megan whined.

Ellen looked around, "The Pokemon here seem to run away when we get near them. I don't think you'll have any luck here."

"How about you battle me?" Megan smiled.

"Oddish is trained a lot more than Polly," Ellen laughed nervously, "and he's a grass-type, too."

Megan blinked a few times before responding, "What does type have to do with it?"

Ellen's head sulked, "Grass-types are strong against water-types. Pokemon types have strengths and weaknesses."

"Oh," Megan blushed, "Well, use Rattata then!"

Unclipping the Pokeball from her side bag, Megan's friend remembered catching the new Pokemon when the two girls had begun their journey. Ellen rolled the little ball in her hand, wondering what she should do about her friend's request.

"Let's do it then," She said softly, dropping Rattata's Pokeball in front of her.

As the purple rodent appeared from the light, Megan's Pokeball was hitting the ground from a few yards away, bringing her Poliwag into the grassy forest.

"This is a friendly battle, Rattata," Ellen prompted, "but don't hold back. She's trained more since the last time you fought."

"That's right Polly!" Megan shouted in excitement, "Just because Rattata is your friend, you don't have to go easy on him. Let's show 'em what we learned with your new Bubble attack!"

Polly chriped bravely in response and quickly started forming bubbles, sending them in masses at the opponent. As the spheres of water floated forward, Rattata chattered and jumped to the side easily. A few bird Pokemon flew away from a nearby tree as the snap of the bubbles crackled through the forest. Rattata started to run in towards Polly, but she was already starting to blow bubbles in the new direction. Rattata dashed away, skimming just past the new bubbles. The quick Pokemon had to stop and wait for a direction from his trainer.

"You can't attack head on," Ellen calmly instructed, "Use your Quick Attack to make her lose track of you."

"Don't let him!" Megan yelled, jumping around in excitement, "Keep a close eye on him and Bubble him when he charges you!"

The baby Pokemon's eyes locked on to its opponent as Rattata started to run in a circle around her. At first Polly seemed fine, but as Rattata gained speed, Polly's wobbly feet couldn't keep up and the purple blur was out of sight. Without warning, a painful shove found Polly tumbling forward across the grass. Struggling to her feet, the Poliwag locked her eyes on Rattata once again.

"Good job, Rattata, keep it up!" Ellen smiled.

Polly tried again to not lose sight of Ellen's Pokemon, but it was no use; the speed was just too much. The hit in the back was twice as painful to the tumbling Pokemon, crying out after being tackled by Rattata's Quick Attack. Megan gasped and stepped forward, eager to run to her injured Pokemon, but she knew she couldn't interrupt the battle now. Megan watched as her friend's Pokemon started to ring around her Polly once again. Polly was strugging to keep its balance, getting dizzy with the twirling by trying to keep its eyes on the Rattata. When Rattata knew its opponent was defenseless, he skidded to a short halt before sprinting in, and Megan's eyes lit up.

"Now!" Megan shrieked.

The confused Polly twirled itself backward, losing its balance and rolling to the side. Her speedy opponent dashed through, hitting her foot.

"You almost dodged it!" Megan was bouncing in excitement as her mind raced with new ideas, "Now create a shield in front of you with bubbles."

"That will just distract her," Ellen spoke to her Pokemon, "Just do what you've been doing, you should get a clear hit and win this time if you hit from behind."

Megan smiled, but Ellen knew that Megan's plan couldn't work since Polly can only shoot bubbles forward. Ellen gently smiled back as Rattata began another Quick Attack around Polly. The grass was starting to wear away where Rattata was running. Polly managed to get a large mound of bubbles infront of herself when Rattata slid into place behind Polly and prepared to dash in for the final blow.

"Polly!" Megan's scream echoed through the woods, "Jump!"

Understanding, the baby Pokemon used all of her strength to sping off the ground and into the air as the purple blur shot in for the last attack. Rattata's noticed the danger and tried to get a firm hold on the ground, but the momentum of his Quick Attack was just too much to stop before the purple Pokemon crashed himself straight into the back of the shield of bubbles. Polly's feet barely managed to clear Rattata's head as the crack of the bubbles rang out. Rattata 's face burned, and he lost control of his front legs. He struggled to regain his power as his opponent landed safely on the ground just behind his tail, sending a wave of bubbles to cover the now-defenseless Pokemon.

Rattata squeaked with pain as the snap of bubbles stung over his body, knocking him off his feat and down into the grass. Ellen stood in awe at the idea her friend had just created. Megan jumped and cheered as Polly danced to her side as Ellen slowly began to open her bag and grab for some medication. The Poliwag lept into her trainer's arms, chirping with excitement as Megan happily sprayed her down with a Potion. When the two Pokemon were healed, Ellen called Rattata back into his Pokeball.

"I never would've thought you'd have a strategy like that." Ellen whispered to her giddy friend.

Megan laughed and gave Ellen a hearty slap on the back, "Of course!"

Ellen stumbled a bit but returned Megan's gift with a light shoulder nudge and a quiet smile.

"Now we just have to get through this forest." Megan immediately marched forward to the next town.


	7. Viridian Forest

"Should we catch one of these weird things?"Megan crouched down next to a tree.

Ellen stopped and turned to see what Megan was looking at. A large, green cocoon was propped up against the trunk of a forest tree. They had actually walked by many of these without giving them a second thought, but now Megan was suddenly interested.

"If you want to," Ellen shrugged, "It's only a Metapod."

"How do you know all these things?" Megan was shocked once again.

"You do have a Pokedex now, you know," Ellen sighed, "You could try using it. It should have all the entries that Red and Blue and Green have filled."

Megan pulled out her Pokedex. It was her first time giving it a good look. It was nothing more than a small red booklet that when opened had a tiny computer keyboard and screen with a few added buttons. She began scrolling through the list of Pokemon until she came to the entry for Metapod.

"So this is a cocoon," she mumbled as she read, "and it will evolve into a bigger bug? But all it can do now is harden its shell?"

Ellen scratched the back of her head and nodded. Megan looked disheartened and decided not to try catching the Metapod. The two continued through the forest.

"So when do you think we'll find Marcus and Alex?" Megan questioned her friend.

Ellen started to open her mouth, but realized that telling her friend the truth might not be the best idea. Megan didn't seem to realize that everyone had forgotten about their childhood promise easily and were probably off on their own now -- not on a Pokemon journey. Megan kept glancing over to her partner for an answer, but Ellen just couldn't think of what to tell her.

Megan looked forward to make sure she wasn't stepping on a passing bug Pokemon when she heard a rustle in the grass in front of her following by a yellow being running past.

Megan jumped and pointed forward, "Did you see that?"

"Yeah," Ellen tried to think of what it could have been, "That didn't seem like something a normal forest Pokemon could do... They're all just slow crawly bugs..."

Before Ellen could even try to think of what it could be, she found herself chasing her hyper friend after the yellow blur, but not only a few seconds into the run, Megan was stopped at a tree.

"Look, it just stopped."

Resting against this tree was a yellow cocoon, much like the Metapod before, but this Pokemon seemed to have sharper features as opposed to round ones, and it was yellow.

Ellen looked at the yellow Pokemon propped up against the tree, "I don't think that's the sa-"

"Shut up!" Megan whispered and swiped in the air for an interruption, "You might make it run again!"

The excited trainer carefully pulled her Poliwag's Pokeball from her pocket and held it in front of herself, waiting to surprise the cocoon creature ahead of her.

"Polly, quick!" The girl hurled the Pokeball in front of her, "Use bubble attack and make sure it can't run away!"

The blue Pokemon appeared from a burst of light and began shooting bubbles ahead of itself. The barrage of water splashed into the yellow cocoon's body and knocked it over. Seeing the unmoving Pokemon plop against the dirt next to the tree, Megan quickly reached for an empty Pokemon and threw it in the direction of the weakened creature. The Pokeball bounced against the tree and rolled into the grass near the fallen cocoon. Megan blushed and immediately tried again, landing the ball on the Pokemon and sending it into a fit of escape. The ball clicked to secure its capture and Megan had caught a Pokemon.

"Do you know the name of that Pokemon?" Megan shouted to Ellen as she danced around with her newly occupied Pokeball.

Ellen sighed and lightly responded, "Kakuna."

Megan tumbled down in the grass into a sitting position and pulled out her Pokedex and hurriedly read the entry for Kakuna. As she read, her face slowly lost its excitement and she fell onto her back in the grass.

"It's just another stupid cocoon?" She whined.

"Well, yeah..." Ellen laughed nervously, "but don't call it stupid. Now that you caught it, you guys are partners!"

Megan held her Kakuna's Pokeball in her hand, twisting it to examine it from all angles. It didn't look much like a partner to her. Just a lame cocoon in a ball.

"I'm really afraid of Rattatas, believe it or not," Ellen offered a hand to prop Megan back onto her feet, "But I'm trying my best to make sure I don't let my Rattata know that -- and I'll eventually grow to love Rattatas even. Even if it's a Pokemon that isn't my favorite, once you catch a Pokemon, it becomes your friend and partner forever."

Megan almost felt bad for calling her Kakuna a stupid cocoon and looked over the Pokeball in her hand again.

"I guess you're right," She tossed the ball in front of her to summon her Pokemon, "This is my new friend."

Kakuna sat still in the grass, staring up at Megan

The girl crouched down next two her yellow cocoon and stared into its eyes, "I think I'm going to call you..."

Ellen crossed her arms as she watched Megan blink at the Kakuna in the grass. Neither the Pokemon nor the girl seemed to be making much progress. After a long wait, Megan finally spoke again.

"Is this thing a boy or a girl?"

Ellen almost toppled over in disbelief.

"I'm not really sure." Ellen looked at the Kakuna, "They all look the same, so I guess you can't tell until it evolves."

"Well I'll just name it Speedy, then."

Ellen's face winced as she tried not to laugh, "Speedy? Why?"

"Don't you remember when it was running?" Megan shook her head at Ellen's forgetfulness, "It was so fast and speedy. And Speedy works as a name for a boy or girl."

"You know..." Ellen stopped herself, deciding it was best to let Megan think the lightning-fast Pokemon from before really was Speedy the Kakuna.

Before anything else could happen, a voice shouted from in front of the two girls, "Hey, do you like bug Pokemon, too?"

The girls almost jumped backwards in shock as they looked up to see a young boy and girl standing in the path they needed to cross.

"We're the best bug trainers around here!" The girl bragged, pointer to her bright green shirt.

The boy in a neon yellow shirt next to her laughed, "You want to try to battle us?"

Megan and Ellen didn't really know what to say. Two strange kids had just appeared in front of them, and already they were asking to battle?

"Okay, let's go!" Megan stood up, picking up her newly-caught Pokemon in her arms. Polly waddled up behind her.

"You have to battle in a team, only one Pokemon each." The girl crossed her arms.

The boy pointed at Megan, "How much will the winner get?"

"How about 150 Yen?" Ellen blurted before Megan could try to place an outrageous bet.

The boy and girl looked at each other and nodded.

Ellen reached for her Pokeball and held it in front of herself waiting for Megan to choose a Pokemon. The bug Pokemon duo had already prepared their Pokemon, too. Megan stood around watching what everyone was doing and wondered why they kept staring at her.

"Which Pokemon are you going to use?" Ellen grumbled at her battle partner.

"Oh!" Megan's face lit up, "I'll use Speedy."

Ellen's heart sank as she realized that Megan really intended on sending a Kakuna into battle -- and a weakened one at that. Kakuna's only attack, if you could call it an attack, is to harden its body to raise defenses. Sometimes, well trained Weedles would evolve into a Kakuna that could shoot a web-like string called String Shot or sting the Pokemon with a poisonous point on its body called Poison Sting. Megan's Kakuna seemed to barely be able to harden at all.

"I'll use Oddish, then." Ellen sent Oddish from his Pokeball into the grassy battlefield.

"Okay! Go!" The two bug collectors shouted in unison, "Lemon and Lime!"

"Today has to be the day for stupid nicknames..." Ellen mumbled to herself.

The duo's Pokeballs hit the ground simultaneously, released two bug Pokemon: a yellow one and a green one. The yellow one had a horn on its head that looked good for stinging and poisoning its opponents; the green one had a feeler on its head and looked like it was smart.

"I know those!" Megan flailed her arms in excitement, "Caterpie and... Weedle!"

Ellen sighed at the fact that knowing the name of a common worm would excite anyone. As she turned back to the grassy area laid out in front of them, she noticed that the bugs were already crawling toward Megan's Kakuna. Megan happened to look up too.

"Look out!" She shrieked, "Run, Speedy!"

Kakuna sat.

"Why isn't he running!"

"I told you, he's just a cocoon." Ellen frustratedly explained, "That running Pokemon we saw wasn't that Kakuna."

Megan stared at her friend for a second, "So... he can't run at all!"

"Pay attention!" A voice shouted as a thud echoed off the trees.

The Caterpie had tackled Speedy, who was now tumbling right towrad Weedle. Megan stepped forward and tried to think of an attack that Kakuna could do, but it seemed hopeless. The yellow worm lunged forward, but the Kakuna naturally hardened his body as it rolled toward the oncoming needle. The cocoon manage to harden himself enough to avoid horrible damage, but the Weedle's stinger pierced deeply into the outer shell of Megan's new Pokemon.

_I couldn't do anything, _Ellen's head spun as she watched her friend's Pokemon topple over, out of the fight, _All I did was stand and watch..._

"Oddish!" As she shouted, her Pokemon was braced for battle, "Go after the yellow one with a Sweet Scent!"

Oddish started to sprint toward his opponent, but only a few steps and he had tripped, falling into the grass. A sticky white string was wrapped around his legs.

"Good job, Lemon!" the boy congradulated the green Caterpie on his String Shot attack.

"Now attack, Lime!"

"Oddish! Quick! Make Posion Powder!"

Before Oddish could regain balance, the Weedle had pricked the plant Pokemon in his side, sending poison into his body. A bead of sweat started to trickle down Ellen's face from her temple as she tried to think of her next move. She looked over to her friend, and realized she had fallen to her knees, shocked.

_How am I supposed to fight two at once? _She couldn't think of a way out.

String Shot was coming from both Pokemon, and soon enough Oddish couldn't move at all. The battle was over.


End file.
